Five Thousand Miles Apart
by Selena Snow
Summary: Dan meeting Phil's cousin was a complete accident. A mistake in the universe's plan, even. So why is it that they keep seeing each other? Could it be because of the ever-shipper Phil, or because of a little thing called fate? Danxoc
1. Baby It's Cold Outside

It was times like these when Dan truly felt alone. He was at Phil's house for Christmas, and no amount of mince pies, mulled wine, or "Happy Christmas!"-es could make him feel better. He watched solemnly as Phil bounced around from family member to family member, hugging each one and striking up an easy conversation. Perhaps Dan should have just stayed home. After all, his parents were off on holiday, so there was no where else he could have gone.

Phil's mum had told him that she was delighted to have him over, but Dan still felt like he was intruding on their family time. Maybe he could just slip out and sit in the car until they had to go back to London? Maybe mindlessly scroll through Tumblr for a bit-

"Dan! What're you doing in the corner?" Phil shouted from across the living room. Dan tensed up as several eyes turned toward him.

"Yes, Daniel, you haven't even opened your present!" Phil's mum reminded him with a smile. Dan gave her a hesitant half-smile back as she handed him the aforementioned present. It made him feel even worse. They shouldn't have to feel the need to give him a present just so he wouldn't feel left out.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lester," he told her as brightly as he could.

She just grinned and winked. "Ah, ah! What have I told you to call me?"

Dan felt confused for a moment, but then he remembered. "Thank you, mum." Mrs. Lester smiled and put a comforting hand on his shoulder before she turned and walked back into the fray. Dan's smile melted back into a frown as soon as she couldn't see him.

With a sigh of resignation, Dan began to slowly unwrap the gaudy-colored box. He had to smile when he saw that inside was a fluffy Ravenclaw blanket, complete with the house emblem in the middle and his name directly below. "Glad at least one person doesn't think I'm a Slytherin," he mumbled to himself with a chuckle. He started to fold it back into the box when a sudden intrusion in his personal space made him tense up.

"Wow, nice! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" an excited American voice came from his left. Dan looked over and froze.

She had on a bright red Christmas jumper that said "Kiss me!" with mistletoe on it and some white jeans. Her blonde hair was done up in a ponytail with a green fluffy sort of thing that had tinsel sticking out of it. But above all he noticed her green eyes and incredibly bright smile.

"Oh, sorry," she rambled, smiling even more. "My name's Ella. You're Cousin Phil's friend, right?" she asked.

Dan nodded mutely, seeming unable to form a coherent sentence. "Y-Yeah, I'm Phil's friend. Dan, actually."

Ella practically picked up his hand (which had been lying useless on top of the blanket up until this point) so that she could shake it. "Nice to meet you, Dan!" she said as she smiled, the tinsel in her hair dancing back and forth happily.

He couldn't help but smile back. "You too, Ella." Dan hesitated for a second, unsure if he should ask what he wanted to. "Sorry if this sounds rude, but where are you from?" he asked curiously.

Her eyes brightened at his question. "Oh! I'm from America. Maine, to be exact," she informed him. Her ponytail bobbed up and down when she nodded. "What gave it away? The accent?" she laughed.

He grinned back and nodded. "A bit, yeah." Just when Dan feared an awkward silence, Phil came over with all the grace of a hippo. Dan couldn't help but snort at his best friend's hilarious lack of poise, and it seemed that this fact was what also made Ella burst out laughing.

"Seriously, Phil! You're like a giant stumbling through a mine field of presents!" she giggled with one hand covering up her smile.

Phil rolled his eyes dramatically. "I can't help that I'm so tall! I don't want to step on any legos!" he told her with a shudder.

Dan rolled his eyes right back. "Oh please, Phil, I'm taller than you and can still manage to not look like a walking calamity."

Ella looked surprised that Dan had said a sentence that long, but she quickly recovered, chiming in, "Yeah, Phil. Maybe Dan needs to give you some walking lessons- I think a few hours with a book on your head could do you some good!"

Phil laughed, then paused. His eyes flickered back and forth between his cousin and his best friend. "…do you guys already know each other?" he asked with his head tilted slightly to the right.

All the relaxation that Dan exuded (this was only thanks to Phil's comforting presence in a sea of strangers) was quickly drawn back in by a tight string that tied up his entire body in a tense position. He knew that look. Sometimes he wished that Phil didn't know him so well, because he could already tell that Phil could tell that he was at least slightly interested in Ella. There was no tricking Phil, no matter how oblivious or silly he acted sometimes.

Thankfully, Ella saved Dan from answering. "Nah, we just met, actually. I didn't get a chance to try out my fake British accent on him," she said.

"It's actually pretty good!" Phil told her, to which Ella just cringed and shook her head with a smile. "Anyway, we were just talking about singing some Christmas carols, and Dan…?" he trailed off with a guilty grin.

Dan heaved a heavy sigh just to mess with Phil. "Ugh, only if I have to. Is it in tune, or is it horrible like ours?" he asked, nodding his head at the piano on the opposite wall.

Phil's eyes brightened. "Mum said it just got tuned last month, so it should be good to go!" Dan gave Phil a look that said "please don't make me, I'm not in the mood", but Phil just pouted. "Pretty please? You can have the rest of my Maltesers at home?" he begged, trying to make his eyes wide like an anime character.

Dan groaned and shut his eyes. "Ugh, fine, but only because it's Christmas."

Phil practically jumped with glee before he dragged Dan away from Ella and over toward the piano. "Oh, and just so you know, she's single," Phil whispered. Dan blushed but laughed, shrugging Phil off of him as he settled down at the piano.

Once Dan was ready, Phil turned back to his family. "Hey, everyone!" Phil shouted, and the brown haired boy next to him cringed as once again people's eyes rested on him. "Dan's going to play some Christmas carols for us! Can you lead us, Ella?" Phil requested pitifully. Ella laughed and walked over to stand by the piano.

"How about 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas'?" Ella suggested to Dan quietly. He nodded and took in a deep breath. The curious stares of those around him seemed to fade into the background as he began pressing his fingers against the smooth keys of the piano. The soothing introduction out of the way, Ella began to sing in her sweet, alto voice. The other members of the family quickly joined in, but Dan was glad that Ella was standing right next to him. That way he could single out only her voice and let it calm him as he played on.

A few more carols later, someone from the back shouted, "How about 'Baby It's Cold Outside'?" Dan shared a nervous look with Phil, who quickly covered for him.

"That's a duet, though. Who'd want to sing it with Ella?" Phil asked his family.

After a moment of awkward silence, Dan cleared his throat loudly. "Well, I'm already playing aren't I? Guess I can make an attempt on singing, too," he volunteered. Chuckles ran throughout the room at this, and he was relieved that Phil's family thought he was only joking.

Ella and Phil were the only ones who seemed to hear the undertone of anxiety in Dan's voice. "Are you sure?" Phil asked worriedly. "We can skip this song-"

Dan laughed loudly, his facade of cool and confident as convincing as ever. "Honestly, Phil, leave the worrying to your mum," he said with a wink to Mrs. Lester. Once again, the family burst into laughter. Phil shot Dan one last concerned glance before he put on a grand smile and clapped Dan on the shoulder.

"Well then on with it, maestro!" Phil joked to his family's humor. Dan knew what his best friend was doing, and vice-versa. Phil understood that Dan was trying to face one of his fears head first, and joking around was his way of handling it. And Dan knew that no matter what happened, Phil would be there to help cover up his mistakes with a laugh and a grin.

Dan cleared his throat again, this time out of nervousness. He played an elaborate version of the introduction to the song, thinking that at least his proficiency in piano would make up for his less-than-stellar vocal skills. Ella began her part, singing, "I really can't stay…"

Dan's voice stumbled. "B-Baby it's cold outside."

"I've got to go away…" she sang, shooting him a glance.

"Baby it's cold outside." This time, his voice didn't fail him, and Ella smiled.

"This evening has been-"

"Was hoping that you'd drop in-"

"So very nice…"

"I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice…"

On through the song they sang, Dan's voice growing stronger with each passing phrase. He kept his eyes on Ella, her smile encouraging him to keep going. When the song was over, the entire Lester family applauded, and Phil shook Dan by the shoulders.

"I knew you could do it," Phil told his best friend with a large smile. "Why don't we give our pianist a break?" Phil suggested to his family. "I heard mum's just got a new batch of cookies out of the oven."

"Yes, do come get them while they're still warm!" Mrs. Lester shouted from the kitchen. "That's when they're best!"

The attention was away from Dan, and he finally felt like he could almost relax again. He sat on the piano bench, still, now turned toward the living room instead of at the keys. Ella sat down beside him and sighed.

"Glad that's over. Phil drags me into it every year so he doesn't have to," she told Dan, who smiled at this. Both began laughing quietly to themselves as they watched Phil grab as many cookies as he could from the platter.

"I'm glad you're here…" Ella admitted to him shyly after a moment of silence. At Dan's curious look, she blushed. "That way I don't have to sing it a cappella," she explained quickly.

Dan let a small smile come onto his face. "Eh, I'm sure you would have done just fine without me," he told her. He wanted to go hide in a corner when he felt the tell-tale heat of a blush rising in his cheeks.

Ella just ducked her head, grinning. "Can't exactly sing a duet with one person, though."

"That is true," he replied. Silence. "So, you, um, wouldn't happen to watch anyone on Youtube…?" he trailed off awkwardly. He didn't know how to keep the conversation going, and the only topic he could think of was work.

She took on a thinking expression, tapping one foot against the carpet methodically. "Hmmm…not really, if I'm honest. I'm a bit too busy with college," she answered. "Isn't that what Phil does? He works for Youtube?"

Dan laughed awkwardly. "Not exactly working for Youtube…it's a bit difficult to explain," he said with a shrug. "I do the same thing as him, though. We have separate and together Youtube channels that people subscribe to and watch." At Ella's confused look, he started fidgeting with his hands. "Like I said, difficult to explain."

Ella's eyes turned away from Dan and looked back at her family. "I'll make sure to try to find you on it. What's your last name?" she asked.

"Howell," he responded. "But I go by…ugh, this is so embarrassing to talk about," he mumbled into his hands, making Ella giggle. "My name on Youtube is danisnotonfire."

Ella laughed at this and gave him an appraising look. "Okay, not the worst username I've ever heard. I'll try to remember it!"

"So…what do you do? Besides going to college, I think you said," he corrected himself.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I go to UNC in North Carolina and am majoring in international relations, which is nice when you have family that lives internationally," she informed him excitedly. "This Spring is my last semester, and I'm going to be studying abroad in Italy while working to get some experience."

Dan smiled and nodded. "That sounds fun. Maybe you should try to visit the UK sometime during-"

"Ella!" a voice shouted. The two young adults looked up and saw an older couple at the door. The smiling lady looked exactly like Ella. "It's time to go back to the hotel and pack up!"

"Coming!" Ella shouted back before she turned toward Dan. "Our flight's tonight. I wish we could stay longer," she told him wistfully. "Oh well. It was nice meeting you, Dan! I'll try to see if I can come to the UK for a day next semester to visit you and Phil." She got up and grabbed her purse from the couch, leaving Dan sitting there uselessly on the piano bench. He wanted to say something, but what? All those cheesy moments in the movies aren't realistic- he can't just ask her to stay with him because he wants to get to know her better.

"Bye, Dan!" Ella shouted from the front door. "And Merry Christmas!"

Dan waved back at her pitifully. Right when the door shut, he got up and mumbled under his breath, "Yeah, Happy Christmas alright."


	2. From Little Italy

It was April 2015, and Dan hadn't heard from Ella since Christmas. What did he expect, though? That he would randomly run into her in Tokyo or while he was holed up in the flat writing the book? He should have asked Phil for some way to contact her, but he was too embarrassed. She didn't seem interested, either, so it would be weird for him to contact her after almost no communication for four months.

Or at least that was what he tried to convince himself of.

Either way, he needed to film a video that day. He just didn't want to, though. He felt no inspiration, no motivation, no anything. So instead he just stayed in bed and scrolled endlessly through Tumblr. An indefinite amount of time later, he could hear Phil's massive feet stomping recklessly through the flat in the direction of his room.

"Dan! Are you up?" Phil shouted, banging his fist on Dan's door. Dan let out a sleepy moan, and Phil swung (more like smashed) the door open. Phil was breathing heavily and his fringe was completely askew.

Dan sat up, wondering what could make his best friend so out of sorts. "What's wrong, Phil?" he questioned with a yawn.

"Ella's coming!" Phil burst, starting to pace back and forth. Phil completely missed the panic that entered Dan's wide eyes. "And I forgot to tell you, we planned it a month ago- I forgot, now she's going to be here in an hour, and I have to pick her up at the train station, and I haven't even had breakfast- the flat's a mess, and-"

"Phil…Phil!" Dan shouted. Phil froze. "Calm down," Dan said. "Eat breakfast, shower, and I'll clean up while you go get her." Phil took in a deep breath and nodded before he exited Dan's room.

The second Phil was out of hearing range, Dan had to fight his own panic. She was coming. Ella. Ella was coming. Today. In an hour. And his hair still looked like a hobbit's. Dan jumped up from his bed and grabbed a can of dry shampoo. Unfortunately, he sprayed too much in his hair and it looked like an absolute greying mess. Dan groaned and tried to brush it out before he straightened out the untamable waves.

When he finally came out of his room dressed in all black as per usual, Phil was furiously finishing a bowl of frosted shreddies. Phil took one last bite before he ran out of the kitchen and down to the bathroom. Dan fixed himself a bowl of porridge and tried to multitask by eating and organizing the mess of games and movies in the lounge. This only resulted in him spilling his bowl of porridge all over the floor, which then lead to Phil walking in right as Dan was bent over attempting to mop up the mess.

"Dan, did you get sick?!" Phil shouted loudly.

Dan rolled his eyes. "No, I just spilled my porridge. Don't you have to get going?" he asked, glancing at the clock.

Phil followed his eyes and jumped. "Oh, no! I'll see you in a bit! Make sure everything looks decent!" Phil called as he ran out of the flat. Dan just rolled his eyes again and continued to clean up the mess on the floor. As if Dan would let their flat look awful in front of the girl he (maybe? probably? definitely.) liked.

Dan spent the next thirty minutes A. trying not to have an existential crisis and B. trying to get the flat as clean looking as possible under this impossible time constraint. His mind felt like a tennis ball in a championship match. Should he tidy up the kitchen more? Did his fringe need fixing? Should he dust the baseboards? Maybe she would want something to eat when she came in? Should he wear something not black? Dan thought for a moment that he would be sick. And the moment directly after that, he heard the door open.

"Dan! We're home!" Phil called in a sing-song voice. His heart stopped when he heard Ella's laugh. Dan followed the sound of their voices and slowly made his way down from the office and into the kitchen. When he saw her, he nearly stopped completely. She hadn't changed a bit.

"Hey, Dan! Took you up on that offer to visit," Ella greeted cheerfully. Instead of her Christmas apparel (which had been the image that he'd kept in his mind all these months), she had on a bright yellow dress and ankle boots. A grey sweater was draped across her duffel bag on the tile floor.

"Y-Yeah, it's good to see you too," he stuttered. "Wait! Wait- I meant-." Great, now he was blushing and she was laughing. "I meant I'm glad you decided to come," he backtracked awkwardly.

Ella smiled and patted his shoulder casually as she walked past him. "Don't worry, I'm glad to see you, too," she said teasingly. "I'm gonna go change before we go out, Phil. It's colder than I thought it would be." With that, she grabbed her bag and went downstairs to the bathroom.

Dan didn't even see Phil walk into his line of vision. "Smooth, Daniel, smooth," Phil commented with a chuckle. When Dan didn't reply, Phil stopped smiling and put a hand on Dan's shoulder. Dan looked up at him, eyes in a daze. "Calm," Phil told him softly.

Dan took in a deep breath and sighed. He managed a weak grin. "Thanks."

"No problem," Phil winked. Dan and Phil started playing Mario Kart as they waited, and soon enough Ella emerged at the top of the staircase.

"You guys ready to go?" she asked excitedly. Dan glanced at her and found himself staring for the second time in the past ten minutes. She'd changed out of her pretty dress and now wore a green sweater, some jeans, and a pair of caramel colored boots. She was tugging on a cream peacoat while trying to simultaneously put her hair up in a ponytail. She looked one part hilarious, three parts adorable while trying to do this.

Phil glanced at Dan before he shut off the game. "Yeah, let me go get my shoes," he said, standing up and walking out.

Silence. Dan really wished that A. he could say something normal and B. he wasn't wearing all black for once. He looked downright depressing standing next to Ella in all of her radiant glory. Maybe he should start wearing navy for some contrast…

"Looks like we're going to be salt and pepper today, huh?" Ella said suddenly. Dan looked up and saw her gesturing back and forth between her cream coat and his black one. He managed to grin nervously.

"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed, nodding.

Thankfully, before another awkward silence could ensue, Phil popped his head in the lounge doorway. "Let's go!" he smiled happily.

The first few minutes of the walk were quite uncomfortable for Dan. Phil and Ella were chatting away happily about this topic and that subject, and Dan had no clue what to do. Should he ask a question? Point out the fact that they totally walked right past the shop they'd previously said they wanted to pop in? Maybe he should stop staring at Ella and compliment her on what she's wearing. But would that be creepy? He should just play it cool, act like he wasn't staring. But if he was honest, that was getting harder and harder by the second.

If there was ever a moment Dan was thankful that he was famous, it would be now.

They rounded a corner, and like a room full of cats, a crowd of teenage girls immediately turned their eyes on him and Phil. He could hear a high pitched voice go "Oh my gosh!" and another scream "It's them! It's them!". Suddenly, Dan felt at ease, as if he was just sitting in front of his camera at home.

"Hi guys!" he greeted enthusiastically, laughing when some of the girls began to tear up. "How are you all doing today?" A dozen responses came back all at once, triggering a laugh from Phil, as well.

"Can I get a picture with you two?" a brunette asked with her phone in hand. Dan and Phil smiled and nodded in synch. This is what they were used to. Ten photographs, seven autographs, and many long conversations later, Dan had almost forgotten that Ella was even there. But his eyes caught hers and he frowned. She was leant up against the side of a building, scrolling through her phone with a bored expression.

He swallowed the lump in his throat before he squeezed through the ever growing crowd toward her. "Hey, you alright?" he asked loudly in order to be heard over the chaos. Dan heard a squeal and saw Phil getting hug-attacked by another girl who had wandered up.

"This happen a lot?" Ella replied with a nod of her head in Phil's direction. Dan shrugged and nodded. "Must be used to it by now…you practically lit up when you saw them," she mentioned.

Dan tilted his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ella bit her lip to keep from laughing, but failed. "You've hardly said a word to me since I came here, but you see your fans and you're all of the sudden like this open book or something," she explained. It seemed that she was completely oblivious to Dan's blush. "But I guess some strangers you know better than others, if you get what I mean."

Dan had never felt so embarrassed. He understood what she meant perfectly. Around his fans, who were otherwise complete strangers to him, he was totally comfortable. But around her, he could hardly get out a sentence, much less smile, hug, and laugh as freely as he did with these random teenage girls.

"Sorry," he finally spluttered out. "I haven't been the greatest co-host during your visit, have I?"

Ella, who had been watching him relentlessly, turned her eyes back to the crowd. Phil was still being as charming as ever, taking photo after photo. "It's okay. I get it. Not everyone's as social or talkative as me and Phil. I guess it's just kind of funny after watching your videos…you seem so different in those," she commented offhandedly.

Dan's mood instantly soured at this. That was one thing he did not want to hear from the girl he'd been thinking about since Christmas. He wanted her to think he was interesting, or exciting, or cool. Not two faced.

"-kind of like acting, isn't it?" Ella finished.

Dan blinked quickly. "Sorry, what?"

"I said that being on camera must be kind of like acting," she restated. "And when you're off camera, you're a different person?"

Dan's face scrunched together in thought. "Uhm, no, not quite," he told her. He cringed at the sound of his own voice. He had sounded quite rude. "I mean, I mean-" he stuttered, making her giggle.

He smiled at her hesitantly before he continued. "Me on Youtube is me, but me in real life is also me. I might act a bit more excited on Youtube, but I think that's because it feels like I'm talking to an old friend. I think everyone has multiple sides to their personalities, anyway. We're all similar to a big Rubik cube, and-" Dan stopped himself suddenly when he saw Ella's amused expression. "Sorry," he laughed awkwardly. "Didn't mean to start lecturing."

She smiled at him brilliantly. "No, I thought that was interesting! It's very true, too. I know I always act all excited when I'm around other people, but when I'm by myself, I'm actually really quiet," she told him with a shrug.

Dan watched with wide eyes as she leant up on her toes and put her a hand on his arm to stabilize herself. "Should we rescue him?" she whispered into his ear, nodding her head at Phil.

Dan laughed and shook his head. "No, but I probably should go join him before he gets completely swamped. You can come too, if you want," he suggested lightly. "I'm sure the girls would love to meet Amazingphils's American cousin."

Ella snorted elegantly. "Gee, you make that sound like being American is a bad thing," she teased. The two walked through the crowd toward Phil.

"I thought you left me here to die!" Phil called, laughing.

Dan rolled his eyes. "No, Phil, that's only on weekends. The rest of the week I have to keep you in my sight at all times so you don't wander off and get lost." Ella and some of the teenagers nearby laughed at that.

"Yeah, Phil, Auntie wanted me to keep an eye on you while I was here," Ella joined in.

Phil's eyes lit up when he saw her. "Oh yeah! Everyone, this is my cousin Ella! Say hi, everyone!"

"Hi Ella!" the crowd shouted with wide grins. Ella waved back excitedly, as if she'd done this a million times before. She leaned over toward Dan and smiled.

"This is so easy! " she laughed. "I could do this all the time!"

Dan grinned back at her. "Be careful what you wish for, Ella. I'm sure the entire fandom will have followed you on Twitter by tomorrow morning." At her look of sheer terror, Dan burst out laughing. He just couldn't help it- she looked too adorable. Yeah, he was doomed.


	3. A Dance Under the Stars

"Come on!" Phil groaned grumpily. "It's her last night here-"

"You say that like it's been a month," Dan interrupted.

"-and we should treat her to something nice! Come on, you don't have to dress up that much, just…" Phil trailed off. "Don't wear all black. Wear what you did for that award ceremony!"

Dan rolled his eyes. Phil had been trying to convince him to take Ella out for her last night in London. The past few days had gone along successfully…that is, successful for him, which compared to some others isn't that impressive. In his defense, however, he'd only managed to accidentally offend her twice. So yeah, still not impressive. But she'd forgiven him, so they were fine. Other than those two slip ups, he and Ella had been getting along fairly well- even more than just well. He and Phil had already filmed a video with her, and despite the sandpapery feeling of a DIY facial mask on his face (don't ask- just know that Ella enjoyed herself thoroughly), that activity had been rather enjoyable.

Dan knew a lot more about her now, as well. He knew that her favorite color was green, she had a weakness for classic New York cheesecake, and her favorite animal was a fox. She liked spending her summer holiday at a beach, but equally enjoyed the cold snowy winters of Maine. North Carolina autumns and springs at her university were different than she was used to, but in a good way. Her birthday was September 5th, 1992, making her about a year younger than him. She was exactly five feet and three and a half inches tall (which is just over a meter and a half if his math is correct).

He also knew that he was already far too obsessed with her. Ella was on his mind every waking second (and even the seconds he wasn't awake, in his dreams), and her constant presence in his life wasn't making things easier. Not that he wanted her out of his head- thinking about her made him feel warm and happy.

He couldn't think about Ella with Phil still staring at him, however. Dan groaned before he sighed. "Fine, I'll take her out to dinner," he grumbled. "I get to pick where we're going, though! And I don't want to look over and see you spying on us from behind a bush!"

Phil acted as if he hadn't heard the last part, jumping up and down excitedly as he clapped. "Yes! Okay, I'll say I'm busy with something, and I'll leave and you go suggest that you two go out and do something-"

For the millionth time, Dan rolled his eyes. "I know how to ask out a girl, Phil."

Dan didn't know how to ask out Ella. It was one hour later, and Phil had already left with a terrible excuse as promised. Dan did not know how to bring it up. Should he act casual? Be sincere? Earnest even? But he didn't want to show her how he really felt about her…not yet. If she didn't feel the same way, then it would be better to keep it inside than to bear all of his emotions to her.

He was at the door to the office, where she had been staying the past few days. He could hear her humming along to a song playing from her computer. Taking in a deep breath, Dan knocked on the door.

"One second!" she shouted. There was a bit of scrambling and the sound of something falling over before she whipped open the door and smiled. "Oh hi! What's up?" she asked as she tried to get her hair out of her eyes.

Dan, for all of the conversations he'd had with her the last three days, suddenly forgot how to speak. "I was, um, wondering if you'd like to, uh, go out tonight since….well, Phil's gone, and I didn't think you'd want to spend your last night in London holed up in a flat, and-"

Ella's eyes brightened to Dan's amazement. It was like she hadn't heard all of his stuttering. "That sounds great! Where are we going? Should I dress up?"

Letting his tense shoulders drop, Dan managed a smile. "Yeah, it's a nice restaurant. Call it a surprise, if you will," he told her, hoping he sounded cool and mysterious.

Ella smiled even more. "Awesome! I'll be ready around-" she glanced back at a clock, "-five thirty? Is that okay?"

Dan nodded and left her to get ready for the next hour. Now he just had to sit around and try not to panic. Thank goodness Phil had already instructed him on precisely what to wear, or he would have been tearing apart his wardrobe.

Only thirty minutes later, the panic was starting to set in. Maybe he should pick someplace different? Maybe she wouldn't like his idea? He should back out now. Make up some sort of excuse. He could say he's feeling sick- that's not a total lie, right? But why would he want to lie to Ella? She's too important to lie to. Alright, think. If she doesn't find it romantic, then at least it will be fun, right? Yeah, it will be fun…

Dan breathed in and breathed out. It would all be fine.

Fifteen minutes later, he heard the door upstairs open. He checked the clock and saw that she was early. Dan stood up from the couch and walked over toward the steps. She came down like she was floating on clouds. When she reached the last step, she smiled up at him, her face closer to his than it had ever been before because of her high heels. Her gold dress shimmered and ran down to her knee before it split and fell to the ground.

After a moment of stunned silence, Ella blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I brought this with me just in case. You never know when you're gonna need a nice dress," she rambled slightly.

Dan blinked and cleared his throat. "Right, um, well, shall we get going?" he asked, holding out his arm. She grinned shyly and looped her arm through his. They made small talk throughout the taxi ride to the restaurant. Dan had difficulty answering intelligently, so he let her do the talking. He was too focused on how absolutely radiant she looked to talk.

When they arrived, Dan hopped out and went around to open the taxi door for her. She smiled gratefully and looked up at the unknown facade of the building in front of her. "What is it?" she asked, squinting at the French name of the restaurant.

Dan laughed. "Une Danse Sous les Étoiles," he pronounced flawlessly. "A Dance Under the Stars, I believe it's called." He glanced down at Ella and saw that she was entranced by the mystery of the restaurant. It looked rather dull on the outside to be honest, but he knew what was waiting for them inside. The minute the double doors were opened for them, Ella gasped.

It was a scene out of a movie. Dim lights, golden handrails, candles, and two floors with the upper most open to the arched ceilings above met their eyes. In the very middle on the lower level was a dance floor filled with couples spinning to the hypnotic sounds of a violin and cello. "Wow…" Ella breathed. "You weren't kidding when you said it was a nice place," she whispered softly next to his ear.

Once more, he chuckled. "Surprise," he replied teasingly. The hostess came along promptly and seated them at a table on the balcony with a view of the dance floor. Dan and Ella went back and forth between talking and admiring the smooth motions of those dancing. Dan found that as the night melted away, so did his anxiety at being alone with this girl. There were no lapses in conversation, no awkward pauses when a topic reached it's end. He felt comfortable with her and could only hope that she felt at ease with him, as well.

Dan did, however, begin to feel worried when they were finished with dessert. He wanted so badly to ask her to dance, but he didn't know how to. He watched as Ella stared out at the dancing couples wistfully. Suddenly, she perked up, and he knew exactly why. That silly overplayed song from Fifty Shades of Grey had come on…what was it called? Usually he hated it, but tonight in the dim candlelight of the restaurant, he found himself liking the song just because of the reaction it got out of Ella. She smiled softly at the song, humming along and swaying in her chair.

He couldn't ignore it now- he had to ask her to dance. Especially since she seemed to like this song so much. Dan cleared his throat and waited the tense second for her to notice. He hesitated before he stood up from his chair and offered his hand. "Care for a dance?"

She grinned excitedly before schooling her expression into one of elite nonchalance. "Of course, darling," she replied with an incredibly fake British accent. A little mischievous twinkle was in her eyes. Dan chuckled as he helped her out of her chair. Her hand felt like a feather in his as they walked- more like glided- down the grand staircase together. All too late, Dan realized that the dance floor had become vacant. Every eye was on them.

Ella also noticed this. "Looks like we're the main act of the evening," she said quietly with a nervous glance around. Dan smiled gently at her. He was glad he wasn't the only one who was nervous.

He led her to the dance floor and put one hand on her waist, the other hand grasping hers lightly. She put a hesitant hand on his shoulder, making him lean forward slightly to close the gap between them. "Don't worry. If we mess up, then we're both going down," he joked so that only she could hear. Ella giggled, and he could feel her relax under his grip.

Dan led her around the floor, floating smoothly around in a dizzying pattern. He stumbled at one point, and he could feel Ella laughing against his body. He leaned in and rested his chin on top of her head. "Oh hush up, you," he whispered teasingly. "I can trip you if I want."

She was still giggling quietly. "You wouldn't," she replied with a knowing voice. "You care too much to trip me."

Dan raised an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it. "Care? About whom?" his voice rumbled warmly.

This time Ella hesitated. "About…yourself. And probably what Phil would do to you if you embarrassed me in front of all these people," she rambled quickly. She was tensing up again.

He needed to say something. He needed to tell her that she was right, but not for the reason she thought. Of course he would never trip her, but not because he cared about his own image or Phil's vague threats. He wouldn't do it because he cared about her. Was he making a bigger deal out of this than it was supposed to be? Maybe she was joking?

Dan didn't have a clue as to what to say, so he simply gave in to his desire to pull her closer and slow down their dance. At some point, other couples had joined the dance floor, but he blocked everything that wasn't Ella out. Just as Dan figured out what to say and he'd pulled back to look her in the eyes, the music faded out. The moment was gone.

Ella blinked her clouded eyes and seemed to shake herself out of a daydream. She smiled up at him bashfully and cleared her throat. Dan jumped when he realized that he was still holding her, but she had let go. He smiled back at her falsely before he offered his arm to receive hers. With each step they took up the staircase, Dan's heart dropped one more level.

He'd missed his chance. And she would be gone in the morning.


	4. Memory Fades Away

The ride home in the taxi had been completely silent. Ella stared out her window, and Dan stared straight out the front, letting his eyes to wander over to her every few seconds. He'd screwed up and he knew it. Even worse, Phil had quizzed him about it when he got back to their flat, and all Dan could manage to say was "It was my fault…just forget it, okay? I don't want to talk about it," before he sulked off to his room.

The next morning he could hear Ella and Phil talking quietly in the kitchen. From the bits and pieces he could pick up, Ella was upset over something, and he knew that it just had to be him. He must have made her uncomfortable last night…why did Dan let Phil convince him to take her out in the first place? Oh right, because he cared too much. Dan sighed out loud, thinking to himself that this was why he always tried to suppress his feelings rather than accept them.

The goodbye was even worse. They were all out at the curb next to the taxi. Ella had hardly spared him a look all morning, deciding instead to stick by Phil constantly. After she'd given Phil one last hug, her green eyes finally met his. She gave him a weak smile and went to hug him. Dan couldn't help himself- he held her as close and tight as he could for those few, dear seconds. And then, she got into the taxi without another word and was off to the train station.

Phil, who had been waving goodbye enthusiastically, now noticed the blank look on Dan's face. He patted Dan on the arm before tugging him back to the flat. "She's not gone forever, Daniel. We could go visit her in Italy some time? Go on a holiday-"

"No, it's fine," Dan mumbled. "Let's finish editing that video."

Phil looked like he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself. "Alright. Whatever would make you feel better," he conceded knowingly. Dan offered his best friend a faint smile. At least Phil would always understand.

They never went on that trip to Italy. As time went on, Dan felt better. He didn't feel as disappointed in himself as he once did. And slowly but surely, the memory of their conversations, her laughter, and the way if felt to hold her just drifted away. He could no longer remember exactly how her voice sounded or what shade of green her eyes were, but maybe it was for the best.

After a while, Dan just felt silly for letting himself get so caught up on a girl like that. He'd never even told her how he felt, and there he'd been, sulking around for weeks on end about how she'd never feel the same way! Ridiculous, that's what he'd been. And anyway, he'd never see her again probably. Their meeting at Christmas and her coming over to visit had all been a coincidence, an accident in the universes' plan, even. They weren't meant to be together or anything…

That's what he tried to tell himself, at least.

If he was honest with himself, he never stopped loving her. Yes, he loved her. He figured that out the second before the song had ended and the moment was lost. And no matter how hard he tried to move on, he couldn't stop thinking about her, and it pained him to no end how her memory was slowly fading. He'd stopped talking about her, sure. Phil knew, of course, that this was Dan's way of handling things and he understood. Every now and then just for Dan's benefit, Phil would mention that he'd heard something about Ella.

He'd heard that she'd had a great last semester in Italy. Her graduation ceremony had been beautiful, and her mum had cried at it. She'd been offered a job in LA. She tried dying her hair some crazy color, but it didn't work and she changed it back. She still watched every single one of their videos. She took the job in LA. And the best news of all- she'd be visiting them at Vidcon this year.

And here he was, leg jumping up and down impatiently as he sat in his airplane seat. Phil had tried to get him to calm down, but he couldn't. They were getting closer and closer to the airport, and Dan thought he was going to be sick. When he could feel the plane begin to descend, Louise squealed happily from the row behind him and Phil.

She popped her head over the top of the seat and grinned down at her favorite boy. "Dan! Dan, we're so close! I'm so excited!" When Dan only managed to give her a shaky smile back, Louise tilted her head and looked to Phil for an explanation.

"He's nervous because- well," Phil stopped. He looked to Dan for permission to tell, and Dan nodded. "He's head over heels for my cousin Ella and she's going to be at Vidcon to visit us," Phil explained quietly so only Louise could hear.

Louise turned back to Dan and pouted at him. "Awww, you're nervous?" Dan just nodded his head sulkily, prompting Louise to pat him on the head comfortingly. "Don't worry, dearie. You're a charmer if I ever met one. I'm sure you'll be fine," she told him. Dan wished he could steal some of her confidence for himself.

His stomach was churning throughout the entire rest of the day, all the way from the plane landing to him lying down in his and Phil's hotel room that night. Phil said she'd be there toward the end of their meet-up so that they could then go out to eat with the rest of the gang. That meant that he had to survive until 4pm to see her. He didn't know if he was going to make it.

The next morning was all a blur for Dan. Get up, shower, straighten hair, throw on a dark t-shirt and black jeans, go eat breakfast with the rest of the Youtube gang, and finally head out the door toward the Anaheim Convention Center. Phil and Louise flanked Dan constantly, which he was incredibly thankful for. Their presence helped ease his ever building nerves over the entire event. Today was just a meet-up, so thankfully he didn't have to worry about two things. Tomorrow when he and Phil would be going up on stage, however, he was going to be even more antsy.

Dan and Phil waited inside the empty conference room in a tense silence. A moment later, music started flooding out of speakers and they were handed microphones by a member of the tech crew. Someone gave a loud countdown. 3…2…1…

The doors flew open and a crowd teenage girls came crashing through to grab a seat as close as possible to the front of the room. Dan couldn't help but smile and wave at all of the excited teenagers. He tried to not be too obvious as he scanned the crowd for green eyes and blonde hair. His heart sank when he couldn't find her. Maybe she'd be coming later?

And then began the next exhausting six hours of his life. Dan loved meeting his fans, of course, but the constant smiling, hugging, and laughing was starting to make him tired. Phil was there to cover for him when he could tell that Dan wasn't able to muster up a cheerful response, and once again Dan was beyond grateful that he had such amazing friends.

All too quick, the clock struck 4pm. There were only about twenty people left to meet, and she wasn't one of them. Dan felt the hollow depth of rejection sink into his heart, but he kept going. He kept going just like he knew life would even if he couldn't see Ella. Maybe it was time to forget, he considered as he waved goodbye to the last teenage girl.

The upbeat music cut off, and Dan and Phil were left in a sharp silence with just their unspoken thoughts floating through the air. Phil looked like he was about to say something, but paused. There was a rhythmic knock at one of the backstage exits. The large metal door swung open, and Dan's eyes lit up at who was in the doorway.

Ella stood there in all of her beauty wearing shorts and a red t-shirt. On her head was a Yankees baseball hat, and she was carrying a Vidcon bag in one hand. Her green eyes held more than a touch of annoyance, though she smiled grandly once she saw Dan and Phil.

"Glad I finally found you! No one here believes that we're related, and they wouldn't let me in," she told Phil with a roll of her eyes. She pointed her thumb back at the nondescript security guard behind her. "This one was nice enough to let me in to try to prove myself."

Phil welcomed Ella with open arms and squeezed her tightly. "It's because you're my cousin on my mum's side, not my dad's. If your last name was Lester then it would have been easy," Phil commented, laughing.

The two broke apart and Ella finally looked over at Dan. She immediately blushed. "Hey, you," she grinned shyly. "Long time no see."

"Y-Yeah, it has been a while," Dan stuttered.

The twinkle in her eyes gave away her amusement at seeing him so flustered. Ella gave Dan one last smile before she turned back to Phil. "So where are we going out to eat? I'm already hungry," she mentioned.

Dan watched as Phil and Ella went back and forth talking about different places to eat. He wanted to badly to just sweep her away into his arms and hold her there forever, but he couldn't move. He was just standing there like an idiot, completely dazed by her.

"-nothing like A Dance Under the Stars, right, Dan?" Ella joked.

Dan blinked his eyes rapidly. "Sorry, what was that?"

"We were talking about where to go to eat and I suggested the Cheesecake Factory since she likes cheesecake so much-" Phil started.

Ella nodded and finished for him, "but then I told him that it was nothing like the cheesecake at A Dance Under the Stars. Going there was probably one of my favorite parts of visiting London."

Dan's eyes widened at hearing this, but Phil just went on. "I've never even been there before! I want to see it- it sounds so cool," he said wistfully.

Ella just laughed. "Get yourself a girlfriend and go then! It's a pretty romantic place."

Dan couldn't believe it. Was he hearing what she was saying? Was he hearing it correctly?

Phil just rolled his eyes. "Well, since we can't go to your super favorite restaurant a million miles away, you'll just have to settle for The Cheesecake Factory," he teased Ella.

Ella nodded before she stared at the bags full of fan presents that littered the ground all around them. "I hope we have somewhere to put all these things," she said with a light kick to the side of one bag.

Dan found himself able to make small talk. "Yeah, we'll just put it in the back of the van we took here," he replied. "We should drop it off at the hotel before we go out." Thus began the several trips out to the van, and while this was a simple task, Dan had never felt so confused in his entire life. Every time he and Ella passed on their way back and forth from the van, she would either blush and duck her head, giggle profusely, or send him a silly face with a wink. To say that he was getting mixed signals would be an understatement.

Finally they shut the back of the van and went to meet some of the other Youtubers in the lobby. Phil immediately took to introducing Ella to all of the LA Youtubers since they lived in the same town.

Finally, Tyler Oakley got up on a stool and and shouted, "Y'all I am starvin', puh-lease can we go eat?"

Ella, Dan, and Phil laughed at this before nodding their heads and going out toward the van. Dan wound up squished in between Ella and Phil, as expected. The car ride there was filled with conversation and catching up with each other. Ella wound up talking to literally every Youtuber in the car except Dan, but she managed to give him that silly expression and wink every now and then.

When they arrived at The Cheesecake Factory, Dan helped her out of the car. He nearly jumped when he felt her loop her arm through his. Surprised, Dan looked down at her and saw her smile up at him brightly. "Just like old times, isn't it?" she asked.

Dan found his shoulders relaxing. An easy grin came over his face as he said, "Yeah, except I don't think we'll be dancing this evening."

Ella laughed at that. "No, doubt it. After all, I don't want you to trip me tonight," she replied with a wink. Dan chuckled and went through the grand double doors of the restaurant, the girl he secretly loved on his arm.


	5. So Close But So Far

"So today we are going to be doing a live Q&A!" Dan announced with a broad smile. He was met with the cheers of the entire room and laughed.

Phil laughed too before continuing. "We have tech crew out in the crowd, and they're going to pick random people to ask questions!" he said, pointing to different places in the audience. "And by popular demand on Twitter, we're also going to invite up onto the stage…my cousin Ella!"

Ella walked on with a microphone in one hand, smiling and waving as if she'd been doing this her entire life. "Hi, guys!" she greeted excitedly. She moved to sit down on Dan's right, with Dan being in the middle of her and Phil.

Once she was settled in, Dan smiled at her before turning back to the crowd. "Alright, tech crew! Let's get started!" Immediately there was a cacophony of shouts and screams coming from the audience, every single person wanting to be picked. The noise quieted down when a girl toward the middle stood up next to a tech crew member.

"Hi! Um, if you could go anywhere on holiday, where would you go?" the girl asked curiously.

"Hmmm…" Phil hummed, glancing over at Dan. "I think I would probably want to go back to Japan-" Screams erupted from the crowd, and Dan burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I think that would be nice," Dan agreed. "But Paris would also be fun," he added on.

All of the girls in the audience awww'd, and Ella held her microphone up. "Awwww, showing your soft side, Dan?" she teased knowingly.

Dan hesitated for a cringe-worthy second. "…possibly," he admitted with "don't judge me" raised eyebrows. What the crowd didn't know what that he and Ella had been talking about their shared dream to go to Paris one day and see the sights the previous night at dinner.

Thankfully before his embarrassment could go any further, the next person had already been chosen for a question. "Hi Dan! Hi Phil! Oh- and hi Ella! What would all of you guys say is your favorite memory hanging out together?"

Dan, Phil, and Ella all shared a look at once. "Well, Dan and I have only known each other since Christmas…" Ella trailed off. "We were at Phil's parents house, and Phil forced us to sing carols in front of his family." The crowd laughed loudly.

"I didn't force you!" Phil protested. "You could have said no!"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Yes, because I would definitely refuse to play the piano when a room full of people is staring at me," he retorted dryly.

Ella laughed at this before she continued on. "Oh, and then in spring, I visited them in London. That's when we filmed the spa day video," she mentioned. "They showed me around London, and that was fun, and then on the last night, Dan and I went out dancing-" Dan's heart skipped a beat when she said this, "which was also really fun. As for me and Phil, we could probably tell stories all day about all the things we did when we were kids," she finished with a laugh.

It was like the auditorium hadn't even heard the last part about her and Phil. All anyone heard was that she and Dan had gone out dancing. Dan's heartbeat quickened when he realized what sort of question was going to be asked next. To his relief, the next question was entirely different.

"Would you please play on the piano for us?" a girl asked pleadingly. Cheers arose from the crowd, and Dan watched reluctantly as a piano was promptly brought out on stage.

He trudged over to it dramatically and sat down. "This is all just a plot for my downfall, isn't it?" he joked into the microphone, making another round of laughter come out of the crowd. He stretched his fingers and went about unnecessarily cracking all of his knuckles.

"Any day now, Dan," Ella teased.

Dan looked over at her and gave her a wink. "But wait, I can't do it without my singing partner," he hinted. At the loud cheers, Ella also got up and made her way over to the piano.

"What are we singing?" she asked softly as the crowd continued to roar. He pulled her down and whispered his idea into her ear. She laughed and nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, all you crazy fangirls," Dan began, playing a soothing, romantic melody on the piano. "I'm sure you all know this, so help Ella out a bit, will you?" Dan and Ella shared a nod, and the song suddenly changed to the upbeat tune of "Dear Future Husband".

Ella laughed at the dramatic change before she held up the microphone. "Take me on a date, I deserve it, babe-"

"I won't forget the flowers every anniversary!" Dan cut in loudly. The crowd was now shouting the lyrics with them, and with Dan and Phil cutting in at random points in the song, Ella could hardly sing she was laughing so hard. At the end, Ella sat down on the piano bench with Dan and struck a random pose.

"That-" Dan started, laughing, "That was by far the weirdest thing I have ever done here at Vidcon. Thank you whoever asked me to do that," he said, wiping a stray tear from his eyes. "Oh gosh, that was insane…" he commented, laughing once more as the piano was rolled away.

The rest of the Q&A went without incident. At one point, all three of them wound up doing ridiculous impersonations of their favorite animals. Because Ella's favorite was a fox, they wound up singing the infamous song and laughing until they were crying once more. It had been nearly an hour, and the stage crew was giving them a sign to wrap it up.

"Alright, last question!" Phil warned everyone with a pout. "I know, I'm sad, too- I could do this all day with you guys!"

The mic was handed to a girl in the very front row, and immediately Dan was worried. She looked indecisive, like she couldn't decide what to ask. Even worse, her eyes kept flickering back and forth between him and Ella.

Finally, she asked, "Are you and Ella dating?"

Silence filled the hall. Dan and Phil shared a wide eyed look. Before either one of them could stutter out a response, Ella answered as if she'd been trained for this exact moment. "We went out once before I left London like I said earlier, but I don't think you could call that 'dating'. And anyway, we live, like, five thousand miles apart. Just like any of you fellow fangirls, I'd totally jump at the chance to date Dan since I can't date my cousin," she ended jokingly. "It's been fun being here with you guys!" she said, getting up from her seat on the stage.

Dan and Phil jumped out of their shock when she said this. "Yeah, it's been great seeing you!" Phil added on with a large smile. "Maybe we'll catch some of you tomorrow at the hang out!"

Dan suddenly smiled, realizing that now was not the time to have an existential crisis. "Yeah, see you tomorrow! Bye guys!" he shouted, waving awkwardly as he walked off stage. The moment the three were backstage, Phil made up some lame excuse to leave. Dan and Ella stood there in silence, neither knowing what to say.

"To be accurate, it's five thousand four hundred and thirty-seven miles," he mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking down at his shoes. He looked up and saw Ella smiling at him shyly.

"Yeah, I know. I googled it one night when I was bored," she commented offhandedly.

Silence. He couldn't stand it. They'd been fine lately, and now it was back to this. And he just had to fix it. Dan ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I figured they were going to ask that eventually- it's just what fandoms do, especially ours," he explained. He hoped it was sort of like an apology.

Ella just shrugged. "I knew they were going to ask it, too. You didn't think I read the comments on that video?" she asked, looking amused.

He let out an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, I saw that, too." There was another small silence. Dan watched as Phil entered the door and froze. Ella saw it too, and glanced over at Phil. She started to walk over toward him, but paused.

"You know, it wasn't a fake answer," she told him bravely. "It's just-"

"-the distance, I got it," he finished. They shared a weak smile before she left and went to talk to Phil. Dan stood there by himself for a solid two minutes. Finally, he just shook his head at his bad luck and went off in the direction of the lounge.

Phil and Ella were not to be found in the lounge. When he entered, however, Louise immediately tracked him down and pulled him into a hug. "I was watching on the screen," she murmured. "What happened afterward?"

Dan sighed and shrugged as well as he could while he was in Louise's death grip. "I have no idea…" he mumbled back. "I feel like I'm right back to square one."

"No, you're not back to square one," she reassured him. "I watched you two yesterday at dinner. You're going to be just fine, alright, Danny?" she pulled back and smiled comfortingly.

He gave her a sad half-smile back. "I hope so." Louise pulled him over to a couch and made him sit down and relax. They sat there in silence, heads leant back and bodies slumped against the couch.

"…I bet you anything Finn Harries is going to walk in right as we get a sandwich," Louise said randomly. Dan opened his eyes and gave her a look before they both burst out laughing. At that moment, the door to the lounge opened. Dan and Louise shared a humored look- would it be Finn?

Unfortunately, it was Phil who entered with Ella in tow. Louise put an arm around Dan immediately, sending all the love and support she could through the small action. "Hey guys!" she greeted cheerfully. "Louise," she introduced, sticking out a hand for Ella to shake.

"Ella," the other blonde answered. "Phil and I were just talking about going out to the mall nearby since he and Dan don't have anything for the rest of the day," she mentioned, glancing at Dan when she said his name. "Would you want to come with us?"

Louise smiled brightly and shook Dan up a little bit. "Sure! Let me go ask Zoe if she wants to come along…" she trailed off as she left to go find her chummy.

Phil suddenly perked up as if he'd remembered something. "I left my jacket backstage! I'll be right back!" he shouted as he ran off. Once again, Dan and Ella were left alone in an awkward predicament.

"I'm sorry-" Ella started.

"I don't know what to say-" Dan began.

Silence. Dan patted the spot next to him on the couch invitingly. Ella sat down and smoothed out her shirt. "Ella-" Dan said the same time Ella said, "Dan-". Once more, they paused.

Finally, Dan just laughed. "Can I be honest with you?" he asked bluntly. Ella looked confused, but nodded. "You are incredibly difficult to be honest with."

She laughed at his little joke. "Why's that?" she replied curiously.

He shrugged, not daring to look in her in the eyes. "I have no idea," he scoffed. "I can't seem to hold an intelligent conversation when you're around. Did you poison my water bottle that I took on stage?" he joked again.

Ella shook her head and giggled. "Can't say I did, no. I think I get what you mean, though," she said. He watched her brush her hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. She was blushing and staring out at the wall in front of them. "All I can do is blush and giggle when you're around."

Oddly enough, this made Dan feel a thousand times better. She felt just as awkward around him as he did around her. Did that mean…? Did she feel the same…?

She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. "It's just-"

"-the distance," he finished for the second time that day. Ella nodded with a look of resignation in her eyes. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, tell her everything would work out just fine, but he honestly had no idea. So instead, he settled for getting up from the couch abruptly and holding out a hand.

"Well, we have two more nights before I'm back on the other side of the globe. What say we ditch Phil and Louise and find somewhere fun to go?" he asked boldly.

She accepted his hand and stood up. "Hmmm, how about we go out just us tomorrow night?" she suggested. "I really wanted to go bowling at the alley next to the mall," she said, making her eyes wide and pleading.

Dan chuckled before he hesitantly threaded his fingers through hers. When her hand squeezed his, he felt reassured that he'd done the right thing. He gave her a broad smile and simply said, "I'm fine with whatever you want to do."


End file.
